Our Passion for Christ

 Allen: I want to start this article off by saying, ‘If you haven’t seen Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion for the Christ – go see it!’ I have seen it twice now and it is literally a life changing event to see that movie.  I was just so impressed by the movie as a whole, from the acting to the way the script read almost directly from the Bible. Jesus is the most controversial personality that has ever lived and the Bible is the biggest seller ever.  America celebrates several important holidays, including Christmas and Easter. Jesus has affected history more than any other character. From a historical aspect alone, even people who aren’t Christians owe it to themselves to see this depiction of history. I have been a Christian for 25 years now and I’ve tried to get hold of the real message, the real purpose of why Jesus died on the cross, and what the major plan of salvation means to me and the world; to see it acted out on the screen is incredible.

 Clay: I haven’t seen it yet, but am looking forward to seeing it. I’ve studied the gospels a lot and as much as I read them, it’s still hard to imagine just what took place and what Jesus did. Apparently the movies give you such a visual of what actually took place. The movie has been criticized for being so graphic, but it was probably even worse than it was portrayed in the movie. The pain and the heartache that Jesus went through are unbelievable. In different times of my life, I’ve thought about what he did and tried to get a mental picture of all that he went through, and there have been certain times in my life when I felt I would get a glimpse of what it must have been like and what he went through for me and all of us. It humbles you and really puts things in perspective, right at the ground level, to think that he paid the price for all my failures, for all the ways that I don’t measure up.

 Allen: The Bible talks about how God created man in his own image. God wanted fellowship with man so that’s why he created us. He put some parameters up, but Adam and Eve blew those down. So that started the first sin and showed God that because he gave us our free will, we can be so disappointing to him. But when we choose him, that gives him more joy than if he programmed us to love him through no choice of our own. Then God brought Moses in and helped set up commandments for people to live by and sacrifices for sins. But people still went their own way. The world got so full of sin God had to wipe it out with a flood, saving only Moses and his family and start over. But that still didn’t work, people still sinned. So basically over the 4,000 years before Christ, mankind proved over and over again that they just couldn’t handle atonement for their sins on their own.  God wanted them to live with him in eternity, but they obviously weren’t going to make it on their own, the devil just had too much power over their decision-making. During this whole time the trinity was in heaven, God the Father, God the Spirit and God the Son. They were one, they could be separated and act in conjunction with each other, but they were one. God saw his world he created being overruled by evil so he had to release his son to come to earth in the form of a human. His plan was very painful for him – he was going to have to watch his son be mocked, tortured and killed. As a father, it is hard to imagine watching my son go through that. But for God, he was willing to make the blood sacrifice of his son as the final atonement for our sins. It was the ultimate sacrifice and the ultimate display of love. That was one of the things that hit me the hardest in the movie – that Jesus would endure that much to save my soul. It was very painful to watch. I had to turn my head several times.

 Clay: John 3:16 says it all….he loved me even though I was unlovable, but he chose to love me anyway. It is very painful to think what Jesus had to endure on this earth, but the other side of it is that he was the first born from the dead. He conquered death, and the grave, and rose again to sit at the right hand of the father. He was resurrected in life, which gives me the ability to live in him. It was that resurrection power that gives me the strength and freedom to live not in condemnation and the junk of this world. Because of what Jesus did for me, it makes me want to be 100% of who I can be for him and the hope he has given me.

 Allen: The movie just really brought a whole new meaning to what God did for me. Each of us are born with a purpose, and that’s what Jesus was – a human born with a purpose. No other human has ever fulfilled his purpose for God the way Jesus did. Jesus was the son of God, but he was also human. He had fears and hurts. He constantly had the devil trying to get him to abort his mission. The movie brought that out so well. It showed Jesus when he went to the Mount of Olives and he was praying for God’s will to be done (Luke 22:42). He prayed, “Father if it is your will, take this cup away from me…” He knew deep down it couldn’t be taken away, but that was the human side of him. He prayed for strength from the father and it was given to him; that showed the unity and the closeness he had with God. When he knew it was time for his death, he drew on that strength, knowing that he was part of a bigger plan for God.

 Clay: Jesus’ life and death can be looked at two ways. It was so painful, unreal torture and pain to think about, but you can see the glass half empty or half full. He went through all of that to be raised up and virtually take us with him. I believe the message of the New Testament points to us all being overcomers in Christ. John 14:28 says, “You heard me say, 'I am going away and I am coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.” The love of God went through and paid the penalty, but that love of God wants us to live in victory and freedom from the junk of this world. As his children, it is our responsibility to help other people see that.

 Allen: God’s prophecy is being fulfilled with movies like this. Don’t you ever stop to think how unusual it is that our world has experienced so much technological advances in the last 100 years? Humans have been on earth 6,000 or so years and for some reason we have just now decided how to make vehicles, fly planes, get internet service into homes all over the world, broadcast via satellites onto TVs all over the continents? Recently there have been so many influential Christian products to hit the market – like the book, ‘The Purpose Driven Life’ and now this movie. They are literally influencing hundreds of thousands of people. I believe we are seeing God put forth his last efforts to spill himself out into humanity. (Acts 2:17) You would almost have to live in a cave to not recognize God’s attempt to reach us.

 Clay: Everything was made by him, through him, and for him (Colossians 1:15-20)– him being Jesus. He was before all things and in him all things consist. We are created to be a life force for him.  When we allow Jesus into our lives, he reveals himself and his plan and who we are and what our purpose is. It is only through our relationship with Jesus that all that is revealed. The world is already set in motion when we are born, and there is an adversary set against us. There are going to be bad things that happen to us,  but in the midst of everything we go through, God is there to help us and Jesus is there to save us and offer us eternal life with him. God loved the man he created so much he was not going to lose him to the devil. He refused to lose the good work he started. I accept the fact that God loves me and paid the price for me, and in return I want to fulfill the destiny he created me for. That is what makes my life complete. I have peace and joy on the inside knowing that God is my strength, my provider, and my guiding light. I know that and the fact that he gave his son up to die for me makes it that much more special.